Celebrating the impact of Home Grocery Delivery program with key partners
In honor of Hunger Action Month, on September 26, 2024 State Sen. Javier Valdez, the United Way of King County (UWKC), North Helpline, and DoorDash’s Project DASH celebrated a milestone of nearly 750,000 deliveries via Project DASH to people experiencing food insecurity across the Seattle, WA area.
The event took place at North Helpline’s warehouse located in the Lake City neighborhood of Seattle and featured community members, staff, and local officials and lawmakers.
“Requests for food assistance was a top need in the state of Washington and across the nation last year according to 211, the nation’s go-to lifeline for social services support,” said North Helpline Executive Director Kelly Brown.
“Since 2020 North Helpline joined United Way of King County and DoorDash’s Project DASH to broaden food access for vulnerable families and individuals through last-mile delivery. Together, we are pioneering new ways to grow equity in access to food and services through partnerships like this. This partnership is one of the ways to assist with an ever-growing need.”
Being able to deliver food to folks who are homebound or unable to make it to the food distribution hours at Lake City and Bitter lake food bank is an equity issue. We are serving 50% more people now than at the height of the pandemic, the growth of the demand for our services is not slowing down.
“Our partnership with North Helpline is nearly five years strong,” said Sara Seelmeyer, Associate Director of Ending Hunger, United Way of King County.
“What we hear most often is that once delivery of food pantry boxes is made available, there are more families in need than we know simply because they don’t have access to the food bank due to barriers like transportation or their work schedule. This collaboration is one key step to end hunger by incorporating innovation through DoorDash’s app and access to their Dashers. It’s exciting to see this model’s success and to know it can be, and is being, replicated across Washington and the nation to meet the needs of our most vulnerable.”
State lawmakers have been working on initiatives that close the gap in access to healthy food for residents with the goal of ending food insecurity in their communities.
DoorDash, through its Project DASH initiative, powers delivery on behalf of food banks and pantries, community action agencies, and other social impact organizations. Local delivery reduces stigma and breaks down barriers to access for seniors, people experiencing disabilities, and people facing other challenges.
We all have a part to play to make sure our community is fed and housed.
“As part of our ongoing work to broaden food access, DoorDash is proud to partner with the United Way of King County and North Helpline as part of our partnership with United Way Worldwide,” said Anna Powell, DoorDash Government Relations - Northwest.
“With over 100 million meals delivered via Project DASH, it's evident that local delivery helps ensure that food banks and food pantries can help people have access to the food and essential items they need in a dignified and convenient way. We’re excited to join together with all stakeholders to help ensure this work alongside our partners across the country helps meet the need.”
From corporations like DoorDash, other community organizations like UWKC, to volunteers and donors, we come together to make it possible to provide culturally familiar foods and meet dietary needs with each home delivery grocery box.
Click below to learn more and volunteer as a driver for our Home Delivery program
ABOUT UNITED WAY WORLDWIDE
United Way mobilizes communities to action so all can thrive. True to our founding spirit, whenever there is a need in our communities, United Way is there. We bring a comprehensive approach to every challenge, actively listening and responding to local needs. Our reach across tens of thousands of communities means we can share innovations and scale impact to improve lives around the world. From strengthening local resilience to advancing health, youth opportunity, and financial security, we’re working towards a future where every person in every community can reach their full potential. To learn more, visit www.unitedway.org
ABOUT PROJECT DASH
Project DASH partners with food banks, food pantries, and social impact organizations to work with Dashers and use DoorDash technology to provide local delivery to their communities in a way that emphasizes convenience and dignity. Since its inception, Project DASH has completed more than 6 million deliveries, representing more than 100 million meals to families across the nation.
